Waiting For The Night To Come
by Julia101
Summary: "I know you and everyone else don't believe I can do this." Haymitch scoffs at Katniss's words, swirling his drink in the palm of his hand. He raises the glass to her with a smirk. "Well you know sweetheart, being a mental patient doesn't exactly increase your odds." AU
1. Chapter 1

**had this idea and wanted to try it out as a hunger games fic. This is set around the time of the hunger games so none of the events of catching fire or mockingjay has happened and the backstory of Katniss and some other characters has changed dramatically. But if you like it, I'll think I'll continue :)**

* * *

**Waiting For The Night To Come**

**Chapter 1**

Katniss Everdeen watches the sunset, her mouth slightly agape in a wondrous sort of smile. The sky is a mirage of violent colour streaks. Purple and gold and orange. Moments like these – moments where she can see the beauty and wonder of the world – don't come very often. Most of her life, she has struggled to see the good. Most of the time, it has been blacked out by the bad. But sometimes, she gets these moments.

From her left, Gale Hawthorne does not watch the sunset. He watches her. The sunset is beautiful but he believes her to be even more so. He loves the awe on her face. It is an expression he hardly ever sees and so he commits this sight to memory. The parting of her pink lips. The way her grey eyes stare upwards. The strands of brown hair that fall limply by her face. She might be ordinary to anyone else but she is extraordinary to him.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" says Katniss.

"Sure is," says Gale, and though she doesn't know it, he is not talking about the sunset. He throws a glance back uneasily at the glass doors behind them. "We should probably get back inside Katniss."

"Just a little longer," she says, and who is he to argue with her. They are both stretched out, lying on the bed of grass in the garden. Katniss's body is almost curled into Gale's, though no point of their bodies is connected, a fact Gale laments. She seems so much smaller to him, sunken in to the longish grass.

They hear a noise behind them and both of their heads rear up. It is Eli, holding out the door for them. "Come on guys," he says with a gentle smile, "you guys know the rule. No one outside after seven. They're locking the doors down now."

"Sorry Eli," Gale apologises, using his smooth, charming tone to its best effect. He gets up onto his knees and then his feet. He offers a hand out to Katniss, who has gone very quiet, and she takes it. As they go back inside, he notices that the wonder has disappeared from her face, replaced with her usual hard, sullen expression. He wants her to be happy and yet he is powerless to do anything.

When Eli has wandered off elsewhere, Gale turns to Katniss. "So what do you wanna do now?"

"I want to go back to my room."

Gale is not discouraged. "You don't have to. We could go and watch television downstairs, or go sit by the fire –"

"I'm going back to my room Gale," Katniss says, her voice sharp and final. "I'll see you tomorrow."

And so she turns around and walks away from him, and he stands there, staring after her. He wants to chase after her. But Katniss Everdeen does not want to be chased. He knows her well enough to know this.

* * *

"_Katniss?" Katniss spins around wildly. She can hear Prim calling her and she wants to follow the voice. She wants to find her sister but Prim is nowhere to be found. Then, through a cloud of fog, Prim comes stumbling towards her. She is holding her stomach, and in horror, Katniss realises she is holding in the contents of her stomach. There is blood streaming down her face, matted in her blonde hair. _

"_Prim," Katniss gasps. Her sister falls into her arms and Katniss collapses into the ground under the weight of them both. "Prim, you're gonna be okay. You can keep fighting. You'll come out of the games alive."_

"_Katniss," Prim says softly. "I won't ever leave you." And then in Katniss's arms, she dies._

Katniss awakes out of her nightmare in a sweat. Her legs are tangled in her sheets and it takes a while to rid herself of them and climb out of bed. She sits upright and tries to wipe away the perspiration on her face. This is like a routine for her. She wakes up around three every single morning from nightmares. The only thing that changes is the nightmare. Most times it is Prim calling for her, dying in her arms. But sometimes it is her father or her mother.

She knows she is not to leave her room after ten. But she does not want to go back to sleep or be alone. There is only one person she trusts to go to right now. She opens her door and closes it quietly before heading down the hall. She is lucky that his room is so close by.

She knocks as low as she can, hoping that while no one else can hear her, he can. And sure enough, he comes to the door, hair tousled and looking half-asleep. He welcomes her in wordlessly and shuts the door quickly behind her.

"Nightmare?" he says. Katniss nods and he collapses back into bed, and gestures for her to join him. They cramp together on his tiny single bed, which is difficult when Gale is so tall. Katniss is forced to lean her body into his, a position she isn't exactly comfortable with. But she cannot complain when Gale so graciously allows her into his bed nearly night after night when she cannot go back to sleep after her nightmares. He falls asleep almost instantly, snoring gently, and Katniss envies the way he falls into sleep so naturally when she cannot. She stares at his peaceful face and wonders if she could ever find that kind of peace.

Gale usually looks every bit of his eighteen years and more. Only in his sleep does he look younger, does he look like the boy she met with a glance as they both received medals for their fathers' bravery in the mines. That was several years ago. They were not properly introduced until Katniss came to The Capitol Mental Hospital, even though they had lived a short trip away from each other for all of their lives.

She remembers hearing about him being shipped away. Her mother mentioned it in passing, and Katniss dismissed it as some trivial nonsense, just because she was glad her mother was even talking. If she had known it was the last thing her mother would ever say to her.

Katniss's eyes fall down Gale's body. When she first met him, he was a lot more muscular and solidly built. But she has noticed over the last few months that he has been rapidly losing weight. His skin is a little paler, and sometimes in the light, he looks almost sick.

In the tight white singlet he is wearing to bed, she can see the lack of muscle definition on him. She reaches out and gently touches his stomach with her fingertips, feeling his spongy layer of flesh under the cotton material.

Her touch seems to wake Gale. His eyes flutter under his lids and she quickly retreats her hand back to her side before he can open his them fully.

"You should try to sleep Katniss," he whispers and Katniss merely shakes her head with a stubborn smile. Gale lifts his arm and gently punches hers. "Come on." Katniss shakes her head again and Gale rolls off of his side onto his back, sighing. "I know why you can't sleep Katniss."

Katniss shifts onto her back, and she is almost hanging off the bed. "You think you know me so well Hawthorne," she says wryly.

"Well there isn't exactly anything to do around there then get to know you," he jokes, rubbing the sleep of his eyes. He sits up a little and stares down at Katniss with utter seriousness. "You don't have anything to worry about you know. Nothing is going to happen tomorrow. It's just another day."

"Except it isn't Gale," Katniss says, and her voice comes out in a strangled, desperate kind of cry. Gale's instinct is to slide back down into bed and hold her but Katniss gathers her composure before he can. She makes a tiny noise that might be a swallow or a cry or a mixture of the both. "You can't keep doing this to yourself. There was nothing you could have done. You have to realise that Katniss."

Katniss doesn't say anything else. She turns onto her side, her back to him and bites into her hand so she can hold back the screams and the cries just festering in her stomach, trying to bubble to the surface. Gale reaches out a tentative hand and lightly touches the top of her head. And then he slips back down into bed, and tries his best to fall back into sleep.

When Katniss hears him resume his snoring rhythm again, and she is sure that she can control herself, she removes her hand from her mouth and closes her eyes. She knows sleep is just a dream but she likes the darkness. It is comforting, safe...easy.

She is glad to have Gale's friendship. She does not believe she would have survived the last nine months in this godforsaken place if not for him. But even though she is glad to have him with her, she wishes him freedom, because in her mind there is no one more deserving. But she knows there is basically no chance of this.

At the time, when her mother mentioned his incarceration, she never found out the reason. When she first came in here, the first glimpse she got of him was him being dragged down the hall by some burly looking attendants.

"_I think you'll find yourself very comfortable in here," Dr Ridley says as he strides off down the hall. Katniss follows behind him, her eyes blank. It is hard to absorb any of his words. "We'll do whatever we can to help you."_

_As they turn a corner, a door bursts open and a young man falls onto the floor. He tries to get to his feet as quickly as possible but two more men follow out of the door and pounce on him. They drag him to his feet, holding him firmly. "Let go of me," he spits, struggling against the strong grasp._

_He is brought down the hall, closer to Katniss, and he stops thrashing long enough to create eye contact with Katniss. He pauses, seemingly recognising her as she recognises him. And he lets them lead him off without any more of a struggle._

Gale used to have a lot of those fits in the beginning. Something small, minute would irritate him. And this small irritation would become frustration and then anger and then rage. He had broken numerous objects (even a patient's arm once) in his outbursts.

Now, he is much less prone to them. She suspects it is because of the drugs they pump into him day and night. They keep him much calmer and more relaxed. He is more docile though there are times when Katniss has to put all of her energy into speaking softly enough to calm him down.

Gale was ordered to show her around, a fact he didn't seem too happy about. But Gale, who refused to socialise or talk with people, liked that Katniss had no desire to do that either. So they spent most of their early days together sitting next to each other and not talking to each other. And as Gale's moods began to settle after the steady stream of medicine in his veins, he started to talk to her. Just a few words a day. And then Katniss started to talk back. And then they became as close to friends as they could be.

"Katniss," murmurs Gale. She turns back over and his eyes are closed. She can't tell whether he is asleep or awake. "They're gone Katniss. All gone," he says and she knows now certainly that he is asleep. She props herself onto her elbows and examines his face. Gone is the peaceful expression. It has been replaced by pain. "I – I don't know what happened. I – I didn't….I – I didn't hurt them did I?"

Katniss grips Gale's shoulders and tries to wake him. "It's okay Gale. I know you didn't hurt them. You didn't okay?"

Gale still doesn't wake. He doesn't have nightmares as often as she does but his are arguably more intense than hers. It is so difficult for her to wake him, so deep is his sleep. Gale starts to thrash a little, tossing and turning. She grabs him more firmly now, almost climbing on top of him to try to control him and keep him from pushing her off the bed. With his eyes still closed, Gale's hands reach up suddenly and push her off of him. She goes tumbling to the ground and he quickly gets off of his bed and onto his floor. His big, heavy body falls onto Katniss and she gasps as the wind goes out of her.

"Gale," she wheezes. Gale's eyes are now open but they look vague and unfocused. His hands go to her hair, stroking before they move to her neck. "Wake up Gale."

"They said….they said I killed them. I didn't kill them," he says, shaking his head furiously. Katniss is afraid that his hands, soft around her neck now, will tighten. She knows she has no chance beating him in the strength department. The way he is leaning on her, she has only a leg free. So she lifts her knee and aims it into the soft part below his ribs as hard as she can. Gale loses his balance a little and she does not waste her advantage. She lifts the arm that was pinned underneath his elbow and is now free, and slaps him in the side of the head.

Gale groans and splutters as he crashes into the carpet beside her. "Katniss?" he croaks.

Katniss sighs in relief. She knows now he is certainly awake by the sound of his voice. She reaches a hand across and lays it across Gale's cheek. "Gale."

"Oh my god, Katniss, I'm – I'm so sorry." Gale starts to sob and the noise is so loud Katniss is afraid he will wake the others across the hall. They would both get in trouble if Katniss was found in his room. So she draws him in slowly and he cries into her shoulder.

They both lie there on the floor, Gale crying and Katniss just staring up at the ceiling, patting his shoulder. And Katniss wonders how on earth they got so broken in the first place.

* * *

**So what'd ya think? Things will be explained more in later chapters, like how both Katniss and Gale ended up in a mental hospital. And our boy Peeta will be making an appearance in chapter 3 at this point :)**

**Oh and on a side note, I don't think I'll be continuing 'mockingjay of 13'. I have just kind of lost the motivation for that story. But you never know, I might pick it up again one day so keep an eye out **


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's the second chapter. Hope it answers a little bit more, however I like to create a mystery. If you wanna know what happens, you just gotta review :P  
**

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**Waiting For The Night To Come**

**Chapter 2**

Early morning light streams in the room from the lit up corridor. Katniss opens her eyes slowly, wondering how on earth she managed to fall asleep. She tries to stretch out her very sore, tired body, before realising that Gale is half lying on her. His head is nestled into her shoulder, his arms and legs draped across her body. She tries to move him off of her as subtly as she can; she has never been comfortable with this kind of body contact, and is even more so uncomfortable now. Gale is heavy and warm and she needs to get up and get out of here before someone finds her.

Once she has shifted Gale off of her, she clambers to her feet. Sleeping on the floor was definitely not a good idea. Her back is aching and her head is throbbing.

Below at her feet, Gale stirs a little. His tears have dried to his face; she thought they would never stop but eventually they ceased into heavy breaths which then became snores.

She feels bad leaving him there but if she were to move him, he would wake and she would like nothing more than to skip over the awkward situation about last night. Gale would never stop apologising and she does not really want to hear him right now.

She peeks through the small glass window into the hallway and finds that it is relatively empty. Her room is only down the hall. Maybe she could get there before anyone sees….

"Katniss, what are you doing?"

Katniss cringes mid-step. She was about a foot away from her door. She turns around and sees Eli, one of the attendants, and the one who told them to go inside yesterday.

She gives a tiny sigh of relief. Eli seems to have a soft spot for both her and Gale. Maybe he won't send her to the detention room.

The detention room was for misbehaving patients. She had never been there herself but Gale had many times in his early days. It was a dark grey room, big enough for only one person. If you caused trouble, or needed a 'time-out', they sent you in there to calm down. Usually it was only for three hours at a time but could expand upon the seriousness of your crime. Gale had been sentenced to ten hours, without drink or food, when he broke that patient's arm. Luckily, being from District 12, going without food for such a long time didn't really bother Gale that much.

"Eli," says Katniss, plastering what she hopes is a believable smile on her face. "I just woke up early and thought I'd see if Gale was up yet. He's still sleeping like a baby."

"Katniss," Eli says warmly. "Let's not pretend I just didn't see you leaving Gale's room at six in the morning."

Katniss begins to break out into a cold sweat. Patients are forbidden from 'fraternising' with other patients, and spending the night in someone else's room is a big no-no. Some of the older patients can get away with it with attendants who look the other way but she's only sixteen.

Her hands begin to shake. She's going to get sent to the detention room. She can't handle confined spaces, let alone one like that.

"Eli, please I –"

Eli holds his hands up. "It's okay Katniss, relax. I was young once too. I know what it's like to be in love."

In love? Katniss can't get the words out of her mouth fast enough. "No, no it's not –"

"Go back to your room Katniss," he cuts in, gesturing to her door. "I won't tell a soul." And then with a finger to his lips, he turns and walks away down the corridor.

Katniss hurries back to her room and does not stop moving until she has closed the door behind her. She lies down on her bed, relishing the softness of her bed after the hardness of Gale's floor.

She finds she cannot get Eli's words out of her head. He implied that something intimately physical happened between her and Gale, that they are in a relationship and in love. And Katniss does not know whether or not this insinuation bothers her or not.

Katniss has never considered the possibility of love, though if it were to happen, Gale would probably be the closest chance of this. She is the only one he talks to, the only one who comforts her when her nightmares get the best of hers. They have never ever been remotely close to getting physical. On occasion, Gale has held Katniss in her worst nightmares or stroked her hair or kissed her forehead. They have never shared a proper kiss or shared a touch that pushed their platonic boundaries.

And Katniss wonders - what is the point of love in this kind of place? There's no chance for her and Gale to get married and have kids in here or anything. She doesn't know if or when she might get out or if Gale would get out. What is even the point of imagining or fantasising over something that might never happen?

She likes awake for a couple of hours, until the mandatory waking knock comes around at nine. Automatically, she gets out of bed, and dresses out of her old clothes. Today, she picks her best dress, because she knows some of the aides like Eli would give her a hard time for dressing so sloppily on such an important day for Panem. She retrieves a blue dress from her wardrobe – the only thing she was allowed to bring from home when they came for her. She was going to wear it to last year's reaping before everything happened.

Today is a day she used to fear, that she still fears even though she has no need to. A day that brings only horrible memories. The day that gave her sister a death sentence.

Today is the reaping.

* * *

When Katniss exits into hallway, she is called into line with all of the other patients. There are moans and groans coming from most of them. As far as sanity goes, Katniss and Gale probably have the most of it. In these fires, aides and attendants help along the more difficult patients who don't want to go anywhere.

Up ahead, Katniss sees Gale and he sees her. He quickly weaves his way through the group, even though he is supposed to stay in line, to get to her. He doesn't say anything as he falls in beside her and they head to the large sun room, where a screen has been brought in.

The only benefit of being a patient at The Capitol Mental Hospital is that you are exempt from being put up for the Games, due to the seriousness of the patient's conditions. It is the only kind of compassion The Capitol ever shows. But it is still mandatory viewing for them as it is for everyone else.

Gale and Katniss take a seat near the back. Katniss sees a familiar head of grey hair coming towards them and she tries to smile, though it just turns into a painful grimace. "Hey Collin."

"Hey kids. Ready to watch some more poor souls receive a death sentence." Collin sighs, leaning his weight forward on his walking stick as he sits down. He has a condition that causes him to 'fall asleep' but keep moving and talking and breathing. One time, 'he fell asleep' for days only to 'wake up' a week later with no idea what he had been doing during that whole time

Katniss glances sideways at Gale, who is just staring grimly ahead. He sees her watching him and reaches out to squeeze Katniss's hand. "I'll go get you a drink, okay?" He gets up and heads for the drink station.

Collin turns to Katniss. "How's the boy doing?"

Collin is just about the only other patient either of them talks to them. Not many people in there can carry coherent conversations but Collin is one of them and he likes to talk. Katniss doesn't mind most times, except for when she gets into those funks of hers and she has to be alone before she explodes. He seems to show genuine care for both her and Gale as well.

Katniss leans into Collin, lowering her voice, "He had a bit of an episode last night."

Collin's eyes turn sad. "You won't always be able to cover for him Katniss. He might hurt you one day."

"I might hurt him," she points out.

"But he could fight you off, I don't think you could handle him." She hates to concede his point but she knows he is right. She got lucky last night. One of these days, he could even kill her if he got too angry in his sleep.

Katniss watches Gale disappear through the group of patients. She still remembers the day Gale told her how he ended up there. They were sitting in the garden as they did most nights, watching the sunset when he suddenly turned to her and began talking. Katniss remained silent the whole time, understanding how difficult it was for Gale to tell her.

More than a year ago, Gale had gone out into the woods hunting. He had come home an hour later with a sack full of game on his shoulder and walked in to find his mother, two brothers and little sister dead on the kitchen floor.

Crime was uncommon but no unheard of in District 12. Hunger and starvation brought out the worst in people. Peacekeepers did their best to keep people in line but there were some things out of their control.

Gale broke down at the sight of all the blood. In his memory of it all, he blacked out on the floor next to them. When he woke up, he was on a train to The Capitol, to be put in a mental facility. They believed him to be the killer, and Gale was too distraught to argue with him. Usually crimes like his supposed one were punishable by death by the only thing saving him was that he was a month away from turning eighteen, still underage. He was so distressed and hysterical that they decided to show mercy, sending him instead to The Capitol Mental Hospital.

They tried to tell him he had done it, that he had killed his family and it was hard not to believe them. He told her that the more days that pass, the hazier his memories become. The thought of hurting them tortures him, day and night. He doubts himself sometimes, even accepts what they have told him. But Katniss knows he didn't do it. She decided that the moment he finished telling her his story, without even knowing him well enough to make a judgement.

And then he asked how she had ended up in there. And Katniss turned to him and told him that her story was for another time and place. That time and place ended up being six weeks later, in the middle of the night, as Katniss's lay her head down next to his.

Gale returns and Collin subtly moves his head away, trying to exit the conversation without actually moving. He hands the glass of water to her and she takes a sip before setting it down at her feet. "Are you okay?" he asks lowly.

"Fine," she lies and she knows he can tell she is lying. "Nothing to fear right?"

"Right," he says softly. "Except me."

"Shut up Gale," Katniss says angrily without thinking. Then she realises the effect of her words and stops. She turns ever so slowly and sees Gale has stiffened in his chair. She should know better after all they have been though not to get him angry. He hasn't yet taken his morning medication and he can even fight through it sometimes.

"Gale," she says quietly, trying to get him to calm down. His hands are tight around the arms of his chair, his face twisted into what is slowly becoming anger. "I'm sorry Gale, I didn't mean that."

Over his head, she can see a couple of attendants watching. If she can't get him to calm down quick enough, they'll take him away, maybe stick him in the detention room, and she's not sure she can handle this day without him.

"Katniss," he whispers through clenched teeth. Katniss reaches out and touches his cheek, hoping that somehow this touch will rocket him back to reality. Away from the red haze of anger falling over his eyes and the blood and the bodies that hide behind his lids.

Gale switches his gaze to her, staring openly at her with his big grey eyes. "I'm okay Katniss." He sighs against her hand. "I'm here."

Her hand slowly slides away from his face, back into her lap. Gale's whole body relaxes and he takes in a long breath. Katniss fills with relief as she sees the attendants walk away from them.

The screen turns on and everyone is ordered to be quiet. Panem's symbol blazes across the screen before they run through every single district. Here in The Capitol, the viewing of the reaping in each district is delayed by thirty or so minutes. Most of the tributes would probably already be on their way to The Capitol, getting ready for the Games.

Only a few tributes stand out in Katniss's mind. The big, blonde male tribute from 1 who is twice the size of her. His dark haired compatriot, a muscular kind of girl who looks like she would eat Katniss for breakfast. There is a pretty, blonde, ditzy looking girl from 2, who is called Glimmer to Katniss's disbelief. Her partner is a strong looking teenager, who tries to stroll haughtily to the stage but there is a little fear to be seen in his eyes. Most of the others look a bit like her and Gale, normal skinny teenage kids. Most of them look scared out of their wits.

It gets to 11, and a hulking lump of a boy ascends the stairs to the stage. He makes the blonde boy look like Katniss. He is dark skinned, and if he is feeling fearful, his face gives nothing away. After him, a tiny little girl named Rue is called and Katniss has to resist the urge to cry. The small, lithe stature. The small, innocent eyes. Rue, like her fellow tribute is dark skinned, and has a large head of dark hair. There are some tears on her face but mostly she just stares ahead. It is not as if she has accepted her fate; she knows her supposed fate and will do everything she can to change it.

Katniss sucks in a breath and has to hold back the fountain of tears and the tremor rising in her body. Gale seems to sense her impending meltdown and moves closer. His arm is outstretched, ready to hold her close if she will let him.

But she does not want to break. Even if this girl reminds her so much of Prim.

Then it is time for 12's Reaping. Effie Trinket totters to the stage, her pink wig swaying a little on her head, as though it is not properly attached. The usual Capitol spiel is played before Effie is reaching into the glass bowl and pulls out the name of the male tribute District 12.

Peeta Mellark. The name strikes a chord within her. She knows him, remembers him but she isn't sure how. He's the baker's son, isn't he? Wait...

Gale slips his hand into hers and Katniss finds she doesn't mind at all. The pressure of his grip gives her something else to focus on. "Nothing to worry about," he whispers.

And then Effie Trinket reaches a dainty hand into the bowl of slips and pulls out a piece of paper. She clears her throat, leans into a microphone, and in her ridiculous accent, she reads clearly, "Katniss Everdeen."

And then the screaming starts.


	3. Chapter 3

**Waiting For The Night To Come**

**Chapter 3**

Katniss isn't sure who screams first. A few of them go up around the room, because they all know who Katniss Everdeen is, and everyone is fearful, and wondering how on earth something like this has happened.

Gale's is the loudest though. His is a mixture of a scream and a yell and a howl that tears through Katniss. She herself hasn't moved in the seconds that have passed since her name was called out on the screen before them. She can't hear it or see it anymore to find out what is going on because everyone is going hysterical.

A couple of hands descend on her and she is being pulled out of her chair and to her feet. Gale grabs for her, and he tries to push away the hands that have grabbed her. In that moment, no one is more in danger than her and yet she worries for Gale. She can see him getting angrier by the minute.

"Gale, it's okay," she says, but her voice is so quiet and the noise around her is so loud, she doubts he can hear her. Someone else comes out of nowhere and grabs Gale too. He starts to thrash against the grip, calling her name and trying to keep eye contact with her as they take her away. Katniss wants to call his name back but her mouth doesn't seem to be working anymore.

The grasp on her starts to become more pronounced and Katniss begins to feel the pressure of the people surrounding her. She is being smothered and she can feel her heartbeat quickening in her chest. She breaks free one of her fists and smacks one of the attendants in the face. He falls back but another takes their place, pinning her arms flat to her side.

Katniss starts to feel the panic she couldn't feel before and rediscovers her voice, letting out such an ear-splitting scream that many try to cover their ears. A hot, sweaty hand clamps over her mouth and no matter how much she trashes her head, she cannot break free of it. She can feel her oxygen supply lessening by the second, her head feeling faint. And then there is a blinding pain in the back of her head and darkness closes in on her.

* * *

Katniss wakes up alone in her room, tucked into her bed. Her head is aching; she reaches a hand behind her head and finds that someone has shorn off a patch of her hair to give her a thin line of stitches. She remembers the blinding pain and figures someone must have hit with something to knock her out so they could get her to her room – they must have not been able to get to any sedatives in time.

It is dark both inside and outside her room. She doesn't know how long she's been out but it must have been at least an hour. She tries to sit up but it is a struggle. They must have given her something strong to keep her out while they stitched up her head.

As she tries to readjust her pillows, the door open and the light flickers on. In front of her is a dark haired man. He looks kind of familiar, as though she has seen him many times. From where she sits, she can smell what she presumes is him. He smells like the alcohol her mother used to sometimes rub on her patient's wounds. He is roughly middle aged, with a large potbelly. As he steps closer, Katniss can see he has grey Seam eyes. Just like hers.

And suddenly Katniss knows who this man is.

Haymitch Abernathy leans forward, leering at her. "My, my you have got yourself into a bit of trouble, haven't you?"

* * *

Katniss grimaces, bringing herself to the edge of the bed. "I don't know how this happened," she says.

Haymitch claps his hands together sarcastically. "Lucky for you, I do. According to these records," he says, throwing a folder at her feet. She wants to pick it up and read it but she knows she will feel woozy if she bends down. "You applied for tesserae a year ago. Your name should have been taken out when you came in here three months after that but it wasn't. And now we have a problem."

Katniss's eyes narrowed. "What are they going to do to me?"

"They haven't decided. Quite a few people are in uproar about it. 'It's inhumane' they say." He says the last part in a high, shrill voice and she wonders if he is supposed to be imitating Effie Trinket. "Either way, we're taking you out of here for a bit, just until we decide what to do with you." Haymitch delves into his coat to retrieve a flash and takes a long swig. After he has seemingly drained it, he sighs and looks back at Katniss, cocking his head at her.

"You don't seem too crazy," he comments.

"You don't know me," replies Katniss.

Haymitch laughs. "You got spunk kid. I think we'll get on like a house on fire."

Katniss stands up gingerly, and she holds onto her bed posts to keep her jelly legs steady. She greatly doubts she will get on with Haymitch at all. She does not _want_ to get on with him, let alone know him. "Whatever," she mumbles. He gestures for her to follow him to the door. Her hand reaches out for the doorknob but he sashays into her path quite agilely for an out of shape man like him.

"Katniss Everdeen." He says it like he has just remembered something important. "You were Primrose's sister, weren't you?"

Katniss does not look at him. "Can I go say goodbye to my friend?"

Haymitch nods. "After you."

* * *

Haymitch informs her that Gale has been in the detention room for the last two hours. He will be let out for only five minutes to allow Katniss to say goodbye.

"Be quick Everdeen," he tells her, opening the door to one of the recreation rooms and pushing her inside.

She doesn't have time to get a smile onto her face before Gale sweeps her off her feet in a big hug. "Thank god you're okay. What's happening?"

Katniss swallows as he sets her back down onto his feet. "I'm going with them Gale."

Gale blinks. "You're going into the Games?"

"They're not sure yet."

He takes her hand and holds it in his. "They – they can't do that –"

"They can do whatever they want Gale," Katniss says flatly. She learned that a long time ago.

Gale examines her, realisation dawning on his face. "You've given up, haven't you?"

Katniss shrugs, her eyes not able to meet his. "There's nothing to come home to Gale. My mother, my father, Prim…..they're all gone. What could I possibly look forward to….this place?"

Gale's eyes convey his hurt. His hand drops out of hers. "There's me."

Katniss looks up at his words and she wonders if he is enough. Is he enough to want to make it out of the games? Wouldn't death just be easier at this point?

The door opens and it is Haymitch. "Time to go kiddo."

She doesn't want to leave it like this but Gale is looking away, out the window, and she doesn't know if he could forgive her for her words even if she made it out by some miracle. So she just says, "Goodbye Gale," and walks away.

Gale is staring out the window. The words he has been waiting to say to her for the last month are caught in his throat and he just can't say them. He just can't get them out when he knows she doesn't feel the same way. She doesn't even want to live so she can come back to him. Has he been kidding himself, all these months, thinking that their friendship meant something, that they could mean something more to each other?

Or is Katniss just trying to lessen his pain when she inevitably dies? Is she just too disheartened from this life to fight anymore? He doesn't know at all what to do to convince her to stay alive for him.

She is at the door when Gale's voice calls after her.

"When you feel like giving up, when no one else on this earth believes that you can do this, just remember that I do. That I believe in you and I always will. You remember that."

Katniss's closes her eyes against the tears behind her lids. Before the urge to bury her head in his shoulder and just let him hold her, keep her from this, she opens the door and closes it as quickly as she can behind her. On the other side, Haymitch is drinking from a presumably new flask. He stuffs it back into his coat when she reappears.

"Is he your boyfriend?" he asks. Katniss stays silent and Haymitch shrugs. "Fine, whatever, be surly. The less you talk, the less I have to listen to you."

"What kind of mentor are you?" Katniss asks sharply.

"What kind of tribute are _you_?" he shoots back.

"I'm not a tribute."

Haymitch smirks. "Yet."

* * *

Katniss and Haymitch are accompanied by a guard to the training centre where the tributes will be gathered when they arrive tomorrow. Katniss half-expected handcuffs along with the personal guard watching her every move but it seems that they trust her. For now.

When they head up to the floor allocated to District 12, the guard leaves their side and goes to his post at the elevator. He will probably be there twenty-four seven, just to make sure she does not leave her room when she is not supposed to.

Haymitch opens what Katniss presumes is her apartment but it is not empty inside. A bundle of pink ambushes her and it takes her seconds to realise this blur of shape and colour as Effie Trinket.

"Well, well you must be Katniss," she says and she shakes Katniss's hand vigorously. "Just so you know, I don't believe any of that gossip about all that mental hospital business."

"Why not?" asks Katniss. "It's true."

Effie's smile falters and her mouth drops a little. Behind Katniss, Haymitch guffaws. "I may just like this girl," she hears him mutter.

Effie's mouth opens and closes a couple of times before she just steps aside and allows the other guest in the room to approach. This guest is a boy her age, blonde haired and blue eyed, broad shouldered. He heads towards her, and Katniss feels a sense of déjà vu somehow. Something about him is intensely familiar.

"Peeta Mellark," he says and he offers his hand as Effie did.

Katniss recalls his name being announced before hers as the male tribute and remembers now how she knows Peeta. The memory returns to her so suddenly, it is as though it happened yesterday.

_Katniss paces around the room, panicking. She knew this moment would come eventually but she now fears the repercussions more than ever. _

_A face peers in at the window and all she sees is two piercing blue eyes in the darkness."They're looking for you," the face whispers frantically with the voice of a teenage boy. "This way." He gestures for her to climb out the window and follow her and she barely hesitates through her lack of options. She swings her legs out of the window and the rest of her body follows. They are at the back of the house but they can both see the Peacekeepers that surround her tiny little house._

_Katniss follows this shadow into the trees before he turns back to her. "What do they want with you?" he asks._

"_They're going to take me. I –"_

"_Is this because of the bread?" he cuts in._

_Katniss stops short and wonders how he knows about that. "There was some other stuff too," she admits, staring into her hands. _

"_I don't know if I can get you out of here without noticing."_

"_Why are you doing this?" Katniss asks suddenly. Her whole life she has been given reasons not to trust people. And here is this strange, kind boy, offering to help her escape Peacekeepers when he might be punished too. "You don't even know me."_

"_You're Katniss," he says simply. _

_While Katniss decides how to take this, the strange boy presses Katniss against the trunk, his own body practically on top of her to make them both non-existent as a light searches the area for Katniss. When the light passes, he peels off of her, lifting his head to see for an escape. When he bends his head back to down to her, he does not look hopeful._

"_You're going to have to run," he tells her._

_Katniss nods. She wants to thank him but there is no time for any of it. So with a last glance at those blue eyes, she takes off into the night._

She never did get a name in the darkness. And now she knows that it was Peeta Mellark, the baker's son, who was her blonde haired almost saviour. Though she was eventually caught, Peeta did everything he could to help her, without even knowing her. And she wonders even now why he tried to help her. She and Peeta Mellark attended school together when they were younger but she didn't see him much after her father died. Peeta was a merchant's son, too good for a Seam kid like herself.

"Nice to meet you Katniss," he says pleasantly, holding his hand out to hers for shake. She takes it and his hands are soft but rough in some places, from kneading dough she guesses. It feels nice. Different. She lets go very quickly and he goes away to the couch.

Katniss studies him. Does he really not remember the way he tried to help her escape the peacekeepers from taking her to the mental hospital? Or he is just pretending in front of Haymitch and Effie?

"The verdict should be in by the morning. In the meantime, you should get some rest sweetheart."

Katniss takes his directive and heads to one of the empty rooms down the hall. As she turns the corner, she sees Peeta watching her. And she can tell by the way he watches her, that he does indeed remember that night as she does.

* * *

"_Prim! Where are you?" Katniss runs through the forest, swatting away the tree branches in her way. She can hear her sister screaming, crying in pain but she can't find __**her.**__ When she finally makes her way out of the foliage, she can see Prim in the clearing, Raith hovering above her. In his bloody left hand is a knife. He turns his head and smiles at Katniss as his hand whips down and drives the knife straight into Prim's chest._

"Katniss. Katniss, wake up." Katniss flies upwards and swings her arms out at the shadow by her bed. The shadow ducks and she narrowly misses taking their head off.

"Peeta! What the hell are you doing in my room?" Katniss pulls the covers up to her chin, feeling dangerously exposed though she is wearing a long sleeved night gown.

"You were screaming. The whole floor could hear you."

Katniss is silent. Usually she would run to Gale in these sorts of circumstances but there is no one to keep the nightmares away anymore. She is completely and utterly alone. Just like before. Maybe she relied on him much more than she realised. Maybe she took him for granted. Was he right, that he alone would be worth coming back to?

Peeta stares down at her. "Are you okay Katniss?"

"I need you to do something for me," Katniss says suddenly.

"Anything."

"Stay with me." The request is so laughable – asking a boy she just met to stay with her in order to keep the nightmares away, a job that a fellow patient at her mental hospital used to do.

To her surprise, Peeta does not laugh. "What do you mean?"

"Can you stay in my room, drag a mattress onto the floor or something? It's easier if I'm not alone."

Peeta complies to her request easily. He leaves the room and comes back a minute later with a thick bundle of blankets and a pillow. He sets up a makeshift bed on the floor and turns off the light without any more questions.

Katniss lies awake, wondering in the darkness for a long time. Did he only agree to stay in her room to get her to stop screaming so he could actually get some sleep? Is he trying to get her to lower her guard, make her an easy picking if they do end up in the Games together? The possibility of both being true is very likely, Katniss thinks.

But there is a small, nagging voice in the back of her mind that questions if Peeta is just being nice. If he is only doing this out of the good of his heart, like he did when he tried to help her? Or does he feel bad for not being able to help her get away the first time?

Eventually, Katniss falls asleep. For the first time in a very long time it is almost completely nightmare free. She wakes early, her throat dry from her earlier screaming bout in the night. Disoriented, she climbs out of bed and heads for the door. Halfway there, she trips over something solid and crashes into the floor.

Peeta rolls over with a yawn, grinning at her. "Forget I was here?"

"Sort of." Katniss brings herself up onto her knees. She half-expected Peeta to escape during the night when she was fast asleep. "Why did you do this? It couldn't have been comfortable. So why?"

Peeta shrugs. "I figured you'd been through enough. It was the least I could do."

"No one else would do it. No one else would give me any breaks."

Peeta cracks a smile. "You haven't met many genuinely nice people in your life."

"Nice people don't exist."

Peeta chortles, kicking the covers off his legs. "You've been hanging around the wrong people then."

"I've been hanging around mental patients." And there is something about the awkwardness and tension of this moment that they both laugh.

Haymitch opens the door and a smirk that forms on his lips at the sight of them sitting on the floor together. It irritates Katniss to no end. "Well don't you two look cosy." Katniss rolls her eyes and Peeta smiles. "There's something you both should see." Together, they stand up off of the floor and follow Haymitch.

On the television in the main room, an official news broadcast is just finishing. The screen cuts to Caesar Flickerman and Claudius Templesmith sitting on a couch onstage.

Caesar leans forward, his mouth making an 'o' shape. "Well, well Claudius how about that! Just to recap, President Snow just confirmed that the Reaping will stand. District 12 mental patient Katniss Everdeen will be a tribute in the seventy fourth Hunger Games."


	4. ATTENTION!

hey guys!

feels like a year since I've been on here and it might actually be close to that too :(

But I do have a good reason for ignoring my unfinished fics (waiting for the night to come and the mockingjay of district 13)

I have decided to concentrate on my own writing as it is something I seriously want to do as a career, so with writing a handful of books at a time, playing soccer, working and having a social life, something had to give - and unfortunately it was my fics.

I've loved writing fanfiction and loved even more hearing your thoughts and reading your reviews. FF made me realise how much I love doing this so its time for me to concentrate on making my dreams happen.

So this means that it is unlikely I will ever get to finish my currently unfinished THG fics and for this I am sorry.

For now, a new chapter begins. In twenty four hours, my book 'The Writer' will be available on Amazon for purchase and I can't freakin wait :D

It's going to be a slow process but I'm willing to do whatever it takes. If you're interested, you can buy it and have a read :)

Thanks for everyone who has followed, reviewed, favourited or simply taken the time out of their day to read my stories. I may see you back on fanfiction again one day ;)

- Julia

Link to my book if you wanna buy it :) or just have a look at the sample to see if its your kind of book - The-Writer-ebook/dp/B00A3LXO0Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1352529461&sr=8-1&keywords=julia+festa


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